Gryzzle wrote:Decided on Hastings over local school USD (among other more prestigious options out of state) because I hate LA and wanted to be in either SD or SF. Anyone else have similar struggles when deciding between Hastings and other competitors? A little apprehensive to dive into Hastings with their terrible employment numbers/bar passage rate/financial aid/resident tuition and the rest of it. I know I'm somewhat looking for some self reassurance here but I'm curious if any of my fellow classmates went through similar conflicts about attending Hastings or if any Hastings grads/current students could shed some light on the rankings and other struggles the school is having. Thanks!

Gryzzle wrote:Decided on Hastings over local school USD (among other more prestigious options out of state) because I hate LA and wanted to be in either SD or SF. Anyone else have similar struggles when deciding between Hastings and other competitors? A little apprehensive to dive into Hastings with their terrible employment numbers/bar passage rate/financial aid/resident tuition and the rest of it. I know I'm somewhat looking for some self reassurance here but I'm curious if any of my fellow classmates went through similar conflicts about attending Hastings or if any Hastings grads/current students could shed some light on the rankings and other struggles the school is having. Thanks!

As a rising 2L, I promise you that Hastings is still quite well-respected and Hastings students have a reputation for being a bit scrappy, which a lot of employers like (but, yes, when you are competing for jobs with Stanford and Berkeley people, it is tough). Most of my professors were outstanding and I was also really impressed by the caliber of my fellow classmates. People work hard and are very engaged. Hastings has a great alumni network and the proximity to so many courts is amazing. The experience will be what you make of it.

As for resident tuition, I think it is on par with other UC law schools. If you perform well first year (top 15%, I think), you can expect an automatic scholarship bump. With that being said, I would say that median students at Hastings may have trouble getting jobs in the bay area. However, I think if you are willing to move your search radius outward or look elsewhere, it is better. My joke to my partner all 1L year was, "I hear Fresno/Redding/Bakersfield are nice." Translation: you take the job you can, work hard, and hope to find a way back. The upside is COL is cheaper all of those places, so it might make those student loans more manageable.